ASUS VG278H 27” 3D Gaming Monitor Review

A Closer Look at the VG278H

In many ways the VG278H has utilitarian looks when viewed from afar and it will never pass as a piece of artwork like some of the competition. Nonetheless as the name suggests ASUS has their sights pointed directly at the gaming market’s enthusiasts and the designers have done everything in their power to make the design as appealing to this consumer as possible. With its glossy black finishes and curving lines the VG278H looks great without making any overly bold industrial design but at nearly 20 pounds, don’t expect to easily cart it off to every LAN party.

One other nice touch are the relatively thin bezels which allow for a clean transition zone if the panel overlap is set up correctly in a 3D Vision Surround configuration.

As we have stated many times in the past, in an industry that is almost manically fixated on equating TN panels with “thin” it is always refreshing to come across a design which bucks the trend. The Asus VG278H does just that since the overall dimensions of this monitor are downright bulky by modern LED-totting monitor standards. Do gamers really care about something as trivial as panel thickness? We don’t think so.

The front bezel may lack the red “racing stripe” or Lucite front facia of some other ASUS models but it does does house two things which we came to love. The first is the buttons located in the bottom right corner of the bezel. Most manufactures are obsessed with great looking but buggy, clumsy and annoying “touch sensitive” buttons but ASUS bucked this trend by including a true interface. This means that even in a darkened environment a gaming enthusiast will be able to tell by touch alone which button they are about to press.

The crowning (no pun intended) achievement of this monitor is located on the top bezel’s center line. ASUS has incorporated a small IR emitter bar which can be adjusted up and down to beam the clearest timing signal possible to the included NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 glasses. It also allows for multiple pairs of both new and old generation glasses to be used in tandem.

They say that a building is only as strong as its foundation and the same holds true for monitors. You can have a monitor literally crafted by Frank Gehry but if it is paired to a wimpy stand the end result isn’t going to be pretty. Once again ASUS didn’t miss a step and has included a downright gorgeous stand that is as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing.

The included stand may not have any ability to rotate the screen from landscape to portrait mode, but other than this minor oversight it is impressively adaptable. The swivel goes for a full 300° (150° left and right) while tilt varies from +15° to -5° and the upright pole allows for about 100mm of height adjustment. This combination makes getting the perfect viewing angle –and thus the best 3D image - downright easy.

While there are no USB ports on the VG278H, AASUS has included a comprehensive list of input options. As expected there are 3.5mm stereo in and out jacks for getting sound out of the included pair of 3 watt speakers or to your headphones. A Dual-link DVI-D connector is also included alongside a HDMI 1.4 input and even analog D-Sub port. While we doubt many will ever use the analog port, as a consumer it is nice to have as many options as possible. It is also worth noting that ASUS has included a Dual-Link DVI-D cable so this monitor really can be considered an “all in one” 3D solution. Just add a PC with a NVIDIA graphics card and you are good to go.

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